


the world turns and the flowers grow

by OliveYou



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: A-Z, F/M, One Word Prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-08-27 04:46:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8387701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OliveYou/pseuds/OliveYou
Summary: "...but my love for you will never change."Series of alphabetical prompts, some short, some long. Some very short. Dropped.





	1. Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Yaaaaaay, Olive started another series! I'm trash. Forgive me. But hopefully this will be short.  
> Just something to prepare me for LeoSaku week. I wanna try writing one or two a day.  
> And a big shout-out to Janiforme! You're still with us and I couldn't be happier.

**1\. Alone**

_One right, two lefts, door on the right with dark oak carvings, remember to knock, this must be it…_

“…Excuse me? Can I come in…?”

“Mhm. Sure.”

The door creaks open, swinging inward to reveal stacks of books and drawn curtains. The lack of light makes Sakura squint and the dust tickles her nose as she peers in, looking for the telltale blond crown of hair hiding amongst the bookshelves.

“How do you work in such a dark room?” She wonders, pulling back the curtains and eliciting a startled squawk from the nohrian prince.

“That’s _bright_! At least warn me next time, sheesh…” Leo looks rather disgruntled, blinking rapidly and hiding behind his book. Sakura giggles softly and his face relaxes.

“S-sometimes, I think you really are a vampire.”

He sighs, runs a hand through his hair, and smiles. “Yeah… Like I haven’t heard that one before. Do you need something?”

“N-no… I just thought you might need some, um, c-company. You’re always alone…”

Leo frowns, tugging on a lock of hair. “I prefer to work without interruptions. I wouldn’t mind somebody else in the room if they were quiet, but…” _But they aren’t_ , she guesses, and thinks of Elise-definitely not a silent, no-interrupting kind of person.

“Would you like me to leave?” She offers politely, and Leo shakes his head furiously.

“It’s not a problem if you want to stay,” he tells her, and the afternoon light sets his hair-and his face-on fire. “If you don’t mind… I-I mean, only if you want to, I might not carry on a conversation, if that’s what you wanted-”

She pulls up a chair and sits down next to him, effectively silencing his ramble.

“What are you doing?” She asks, as he seems to be at a loss for words. He blinks and straightens up, clearing his throat.

“It’s just tactics and strategy, I’m certain you’d find it boring.” Sakura gives him her most encouraging smile, and he falls silent again.

He really does look pink in this light. She blinks a couple of times just to be sure, and he coughs and continues. “…But if you want to hear about it, I’d be glad to.”

She nods.

“Well, I suppose… we could start here…”

He then launches into a detailed explanation of the map in front of him, and though she doesn’t understand any of it, she’s just content to listen. Even the most taciturn and knowledgeable soldier needs a bit of company from time to time.

She’s happy to play the part.


	2. Birthday

**2\. Birthday**

Leo was known to be a late sleeper. If allowed, he would sleep right past his 6:00 AM alarm and wake up in the middle of the afternoon-a fact he’d be loath to admit outright-but everyone knows, one way or another.

So when he woke up to the sun in his face and the numbers “12:40 PM” on his clock, he assumed the worst.

_Somebody_ was playing a trick on him. And they would _not_ survive.

A “good morning!” from the doorway surprises him enough to jump and spin around, where Sakura is looking in from behind the door.

“What!? Morning? Is it morning?!” He hurriedly tries to pat his hair down and straighten his shirt and do several other things at the same time, and she giggles.

“It’s not, really. W-we let you sleep in.”

Let him? Why? He has things to do, places to be-

“It’s your birthday, r-remember? We… We thought you might want to…” She falters at the look on Leo’s face. His birthday? It’s not…

A quick look at the calendar proves that yes, it is, and he blushes.

“Ah. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she assures him, carrying a tray of bacon and eggs into the room. “it’s your day… to do w-whatever you w-want!”

They even made breakfast for him? Wow. They even remembered the tomato juice. ( _Which_ , by the way, he doesn’t obsess over like a psycho. All of those rumors are wrong. Most of them, anyway.)

“S-so, anyway, happy birthday!” She plants a quick kiss on his forehead and exits the room, leaving Leo alone with his breakfast.

Was that his birthday present? He wouldn’t mind if it was.


	3. Children

**3\. Children**

“Isn’t she so cute?”

Leo looks over the child in Sakura’s arms-small, chubby, mostly bald-and shrugs. Sakura sighs happily and he can’t help but smile when he sees her expression-she is truly beautiful, standing here in the middle of the medical tent, with her hair alight and that wonderful sparkle in her eyes.

“I’ve always loved babies,” she murmurs, “maybe, when I’m older, I could raise a few… o-orphans, I mean,” she adds hastily, and Leo imagines her, older, with her children at her feet, and likes the image.

“You would make a good mother,” he says, and she blushes.

“I-I don’t know if I’ll ever get married, though…”

“It certainly seems a ways off, with the war and its aftermath,” he agrees, and Sakura nods. “but maybe in the future, you will be able to… marry, and raise a family.” _Ours_ , he mentally adds, but he doesn’t dare to dream of that kind of happiness. It is entirely out of the question, wedding her, and though some may marry early, he isn’t one of them.

“I-I just like kids.” That much is apparent by her wide smile and soft eyes when she looks back down at the child. “What about you?”

“I’ve never been very good with children,” he replies, recalling the days of toddler Elise and how he usually hid away in the library, avoiding all sort of contact with the girl. “They always screamed at me. Elise would try to eat my books.”

Sakura giggles, and he indulges himself in a small smile. He can afford to be happy every once and a while, to relax and slow down and spend a peaceful evening with a friend (though his heart tells him it’s much, much more than that) and some pleasant conversation.

“I guess you don’t really seem like the kid type,” she mumbles, jiggling the baby and pressing a kiss to her forehead. The sun frames her face, casting a golden crown and veil upon her features, and she smiles.

Leo has a sudden vision of her, dressed in white, lace, and flowers, framed by a backdrop of cherry blossoms; then as a new mother, crying, overjoyed, with a newborn in her arms; and older, with her handsome sons and lovely daughters, content and peaceful and happy; _Sakura_ , wonderful and stunning-

As his _wife_.

Oh.

With his _children_.

_Oh._

_…all things considered, he rather likes the idea._


	4. Defend

**4\. Defend**

It is dark.

Sakura squeezes her staff tightly, nervously biting her lower lip and casting her eyes around the area.

She is scared.

_Why_ didn’t she see that arrow before? If only she had been more alert, then maybe Hana wouldn’t’ve gotten hurt, then she would still be here, not forced to withdraw into the castle, and she wouldn’t be alone, defenseless-

She only hopes Subaki will be quick to reach her. She’s not good at fighting.

There is a noise. Behind her.

Quickly, but not quickly enough, she spins around, and there is a ninja, dressed in black, aiming for her heart, surely, she’s the easy target, oh why oh why didn’t she see it _coming_ -

The breath catches in her throat and _this must be it, and there was still so much to do, I’m sorry-_

There is quiet.

There is light.

There is blood.

Something hits the ground and there is the slow, sickly sound of a blade, and she recognizes the smell of death, but _she’s_ not dead, so who-

She can’t breathe.

And there are arms around her, and warmth and comfort and a voice which she can’t quite place, but her fear melts away and _she_ is not shaking, but somebody else is, and she doesn’t want that, she’s alright, everything is okay now-

She stays there for a while, with her face pressed into the warmth, and she can hear the heartbeat, quick and unsteady, like a rabbit’s, and she wraps her arms around it, tries to calm it-

And the voice is now her own.

Gradually, the shaking fades and the heartbeat returns to normal. She lifts her head, open her eyes.

Brown, soft eyes, wet and raw and worried, meet her gaze.

She holds it.

He struggles for words, for breath, and his voice is barely more than a whisper.

“ _You’re alright?_ ”

She nods and he sighs, threads his fingers through her hair, presses a kiss to her forehead. “ _I_ _almost_ … I thought I _lost_ you, I thought I was…” His voice cracks, and she hugs him a little tighter. “…I could have been _too_ _late_ … You could have been-”

He doesn’t go on, but she understands.

Then suddenly, he’s angry. The shock wears off and he catches her eyes and demands an explanation, his grip tight on her shoulders and his eyes sharp and furious.

“ _What_ ,” he whispers fiercely, “ _Made_ them _think_ that _you_ could stand out here _all_ _alone_?”

“I-It wasn’t their f-fault,” she replies shakily, “I… I wasn’t looking, I m-m-messed up…”

“That’s no fault of yours, is it? You’re a healer, not a fighter. They made a stupid decision, and it almost got you killed,” he returns easily, and Sakura thinks it best to not press on. Leo relaxes, dropping his gaze and loosening his grip. “I’m not mad at _you_ , Sakura. Far from it. It’s just… When I think about the _danger_ they’ve put you in, and that you very nearly _died_ , I…”

She remembers the fear and the shaking and the crying and nods. He closes his eyes, steadies his breathing, and when he opens them again, his eyes are back to their usual hard, sharp, cold brown.

“I _will_ be addressing this later, of course. Your retainers… I can’t believe…” He trails off, then shakes his head. “Sorry. Nevertheless, I will stay by your side for the remainder of the battle. If that’s alright with you, of course.”

She nods. He seems satisfied, stepping back to collect his sword and Brynhildr. She retrieves her staff from the floor and takes his hand, making their way around the corpse and into the fortress. He holds open the door.

“Lady Sakura! Are you alright-?”

Subaki’s mouth drops open at the sight of Leo, book tucked under his arm and sword in scabbard, hand-in-hand with Sakura, talking and laughing like a pair of lovestruck teenagers despite the very apparent smear of blood on his cheek.

He catches Subaki’s eye as he walks by and gives him a slow, smug, satisfied smile.


	5. End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I JUST WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY

**5\. End**

(this is the end,

and the beginning.)

Kamui is the first to speak, her eyes wide and a smile quickly spreading across her face, and her voice is nothing but amazement and unguarded awe. She’s an open book-always has, always will be.

“We did it.”

They cheer for her.

Corrin wraps his sister up in a giant hug before spinning around to meet Aqua face-to-face, and kisses her-messily-but she doesn’t _care_ , _they won_ -and Takumi is grinning, genuinely _happy_ , and Elise screams and Hinata shouts and even Marx cracks a smile, incredibly relieved to see the end of it all, and Flannel is crying, and Sakura-

…oh.

Sakura is smiling, smiling at _him_ , tears rolling down her cheeks, and Leo seizes on the feeling of eurphoria and kisses her.

(she is his all and everything, and it’s _over, finally._ )

When they finally separate, they’re wearing identical smiles, breathless and content, hair tousled and dusty, dirt and sweat and tears and blood but she’s _beautiful_ , indescribable-

“What now?”

She looks at him and hums, and he’s never been quite so happy in his _life_ -

“Go home,” she says thoughtfully, and he’ll go with her; he’d go anywhere- “b-back to Hoshido, and help with the a-aftermath.” Yes, of course she’d help with the relief, it’s selfish to assume she would stay inside the palace, they both need to work, it won’t be easy…

“Cherry blossoms.” He blurts it out, suddenly, and she scrunches up her face, confused.

“Leo…?”

“Cherry blossoms,” he insists, “you said- you said you wanted to see the cherry blossoms, didn’t you? Your namesake, too- we could watch them together-” He can hardly get the words out, his mind is working faster than words can come out and she _smiles_ _again_ , and his brain crashes.

“Y-you’re right. I always wanted to… watch the blossoms, it would be fun w-with everyone…”

That smile sends him straight to heaven, and he’s way past normal _now_.

“Five kids.”

Sakura stares at him, startled and embarrassed, and then nods, all red cheeks and sparkling eyes.

“My own garden…?” She ventures out causiously and Leo smiles wide, and they both laugh.

“Afternoon tea.”

“Late morning naps…”

“Books, whole rooms of them-”

“An orphanage, a hospital-”

“Entire _days_ spent with each other-”

“Rainy days, hot chocolate and a fire, we could- we could read books out loud t-t-to everyone-”

They end up crashing against each other, laughing too hard to actually kiss but bumping their foreheads together, and he feels as if his heart will burst right out of his chest, and she hugs him tight and whispers in his ear-

_“A wedding.”_


	6. Freckles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really like freckles tbh  
> this is part of my secret headcanon that all of the hoshidians get freckles and tan while the nohrians get sunburnt horribly

**6\. Freckles**

“47.”

Leo mutters it sharply, short and quick, drops his stack of books on the table and leaves, and Sakura is left with a mystery number and a pile of tomes.

“49.” He tells her, the next time they met, in the middle of the hallway. She researches it, but finds nothing.

“56,” he informs her, under an oak tree, and when Sakura opened her mouth to ask _what_ , he was gone.

“68.” After dinner. Nobody has any idea what she’s talking about.

“75.” Before war council. It’s driving her crazy.

“84,” and she was fed up. She wants to know _why_ and _what_ 84 has to do with anything, and he’s going to tell her.

“87-” Sakura stops, turns around to look him in the face, and tries her best to look scary. Leo shuts up. He looks scared, like a boy who knows he’s done something wrong but doesn’t remember _what_.

“87 _what_?” She demands. He relaxes, then blushes, staring at the floor.

“It’s… well,” his blush deepens, and he sighs, running a hand through his hair. “It’s…”

He looks at her, takes a deep breath, and she softens, just a little. The absence of a frown must’ve encouraged him, because he opens his mouth again.

“…Freckles.”

At the look on her face, he ducks his head down again and clears his throat. “I was counting freckles. On you. I was trying to calculate the rate per day, with your recent sun exposure and…” He grimaces. “It… sounds weird when I try to explain it, but… I was bored, and once I get into something…”

“Oh.” She echoes, blushing just as hard. “I-I forgot about them… I used to cover them up, but it seemed like too much trouble…”

“It’s not a bad thing,” Leo says hastily, “You look… cute. It’s endearing. I-I like it.”

“Oh.” She says it again, because he _likes it_ , he thinks she _looks_ _cute_ , and she suddenly spins around and stares at her feet, no longer annoyed-just very, very, embarrassed. “Um.”

They stand there for a moment, both beet-red, and then Leo clears his throat.

“Um, I’ll… see you later.” She nods.

“…88. You have one on your neck, _that’s_ _adorable_.”


	7. Guess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the fluff is back, baby!  
> I feel bad for not updating this tbh

**7\. Guess**

“Hello.”

Sakura rubs her head, feeling a headache coming on, and collapses onto the bed. She’s exhausted.

“Hey.” She mumbles it more to the pillow than to him; but he just laughs and for some reason she can feel herself getting irritated.

She groans, rolls over, and Leo kisses her forehead. “Tough day?”

“Mmm.” For some reason, her work has been getting harder and harder, it’s like she’s getting _old_. _That_ is unacceptable; she is needed in the medical tent. Elise isn’t enough to tend to all the soldiers.

He massages her scalp and Sakura can feel herself drifting off, getting sleepier and sleepier, so it’s not exactly pleasant when Leo interrupts her reverie.

“Guess what.” His voice is altogether too loud and she only mumbles crankily and pushes him away. Which may have not been the best decision, because now her headache is returning, full force.

“Sakura, guess.” He sounds _so_ insistent. She wants to sleep. “Please.”

“No.”

“But-”

“I said _no_ ,” she snaps, and Leo recoils. “I- want- to- sleep. I’ve got a horrible headache... just… leave me alone...”

“Oh. Right.” After a bit, he returns to massaging her forehead, and though she’s _supposed_ to be mad at him, she can’t, really, not when he’s so _nice_ to her…

…what did she say to him…?

“O-oh my goodness, I’m s-so sorry…!” Sakura shoots up and almost hits his jaw, but he jerks back at the last second. “I-I wasn’t… I wasn’t thinking, I’m so s-sorry! I didn’t mean to snap at you!”

“It’s no problem. You’ve been working hard. If you want to sleep, go sleep.” He runs his fingers through her hair but she brushes them away.

“What did you want to tell me?” She asks anxiously, and he shakes his head.

“It’s nothing, alright? Sleep.”

“N-no, I want to know! I don’t want to ignore you…”

“No, it’s alright…!” Sakura grabs his hands and stares at him, and he sheepishly drops her gaze and gives in. “Geez. Okay, okay, okay… I just... you ruined the moment…”

“Ah…”

The silence gets awkward very, very quickly and Leo blushes and looks up.

“I love you.”

On that note, Sakura promptly falls asleep in his arms.


	8. Habits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this doesn't really fit what the prompt but oh well  
> they're so awkward I love them

**8\. Habits**

“T-thanks for helping me, L-Leo.”

“Not a problem.” Leo replies, setting the box down with a sigh. “Personally, I can’t imagine you lifting anything like this on a daily basis… Not to be rude, but you’re not exactly suited to this sort of labor.”

Sakura blushes and twists her apron around her fingers, instinctively looking down at her feet. “W-well, I don’t like being useless… and I-I want to prove that I’m n-not weak! I just want to help…”

“You’re not useless,” he assures her, “but you often come off as delicate because of… that, for instance.” He taps her on the head, lightly, and Sakura flushes and tears her eyes away from her feet and up to his face. “Eye contact is very important.”

“R-right…” She tries to focus on his eyes, and Leo smirks and places a hand on her shoulder.

“Shoulders back. Chin up. And…” He pauses, and her concentration wavers. “…Why are you puffing your cheeks out? You look like a chipmunk.”

“I-I’m not! Am I?” Sakura drops her shoulders and shuffles her hands, lowering her gaze back to the floor-his eyes are much too distracting, it’s much easier to just stare at the ground. “S-sorry…”

“And stop apologizing! You’ve done nothing wrong…” There’s a hand on her chin and he tips her eyes up to meet his, but instead of saying anything, he just stares.

She wants to say something, but his eyes are hypnotizing-mesmerizing, deep and dark and full of warmth, she’s not the poetic type but they remind her of coffee and rich brown fields, waiting for rain and sunshine and magic-

-and he blinks and it’s over.

“I-I’m sorry,” he apologizes, red in the face and still somewhat confused. “Wasn’t… w-wasn’t thinking...”

“N-no, it’s fine!” She stumbles backwards, hastily trying to cover up her blush and avoid eye contact at the same time. “I, uh, t-thank you for your help! G-goodbye!”

“Uh, y-you’re welcome… I think…”


	9. Ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops  
> is this even shippy? idk anymore  
> there was going to be more but I forgot what it was  
> it was originally supposed to be cute and fluffy but I got bored

**9\. Ice**

The wind blows through her hair, a flurry of snow melting on her face and freezing her fingertips.

Sakura shivers, trying in vain to pull her thin cloak tighter around her shoulders, glancing around the landscape and wondering if it’s worth it to retreat-she’ll avoid the risk of frostbite, surely, but she needs to do her part and secure the border.

She decides to stay put a few minutes more, opting to follow orders and hope that somebody comes to help her. Or take over for her. Goodness knows she can’t stay out here much longer.

She stifles a sudden yawn, strangely sleepy. Somehow the snow isn’t so cold anymore, more of a soft blanket then frozen flakes; but there’s a thought in the back of her mind, something important...

Hmm. Sakura yawns again, struggling to keep her eyes open. She really should go back in... It’s… dangerous...? Was that the word? She shakes her head, frowning, trying to stay awake…

“Standing out here all alone?”

Her eyes snap back open in an instant; his voice tickles her ears and she rapidly starts to shiver, not quite warm anymore.

“Y-y-yeah.” Her voice is oddly sluggish, and she feels so very tired…

“…Sakura? What are you…” His body is soft and sturdy, and she leans into him. His voice is distant, worried; somebody’s hands are pressed against her neck as she settles into a dark, sleepy haze-

“Sakura! Geez, you’re like ice-Sakura, can you hear me? WAKE UP!” No, she doesn’t want to wake up, stop shaking her… She wants to go to sleep-why is he shaking her? Is he worried? Why would he be… worried…?

“SAKURA! OPEN YOUR EYES!” She’s alright, really… She can tell him that… Can’t she…?

…and through the haze, she manages a few words-a last ditch attempt, maybe, to get him to stop.

“I’m okay…” She mumbles, but his shaking doesn’t stop. If anything, it only heightens his panic. 

“NO, YOU’RE NOT-SAKURA, YOU NEED TO STAY AWAKE! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! SAKURA-”

-Death.

That’s the word she was looking for.

…that should scare her, all things considered… but she only wants to sleep, and death doesn’t sound that bad.

…not bad at all…

“S-Sakura…? N-no… please…? Open your eyes… J-just open them… please? N-no... y-you can’t… Sakura-”

-and right before this horribly not-warm, not-cold feeling pulls her under, she feels something on her cheek, and it’s so warm, so wet-

so dark-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blehhh I don't know what to draw/write but the next prompt is j... maybe you can guess what that's gonna be, aha-  
> also uh if you're subscribing to my birthright!leosaku fic, you can take those off because I changed it back to a oneshot for lack of ideas.  
> thanks


End file.
